Drink this!

Living Proof at Yusho

A lime and rum cocktail through the Japanese prism

July 12, 2012

Living Proof: How to categorize this drink? Like many things at chef Matthias Merges' Yusho, it defies labeling. (One example from the food side: takoyaki, the octopus fritters found on the streets of Osaka, are re-imagined here with duck confit or salmon roe.) It's not purebred Japanese, but perhaps philosophically Japanese — clean flavor lines, a notion of balance, favoring subtlety over bold surprises.

There's plenty going on in Living Proof: The base is three-year cask-aged El Dorado rum, vanilla smooth, then infused with umeshu, the liqueur made from steeping Japanese green plums in shochu. Falernum bitters add subtle spice. The garnish is a slice of red plum. Lime and rum predominate — think a Japanese interpretation of a mai tai. $9 at Yusho, 2853 N. Kedzie Ave., 773-904-8558